


Trust But Verify

by Nesabj



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-14
Updated: 2015-01-14
Packaged: 2018-03-07 14:11:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3175716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nesabj/pseuds/Nesabj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes scientists rush in where colonels fear to tread.  And, sometimes they give said colonels a push in the wrong direction.  Written for the 2014 H/C Winter Fic Exchange</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a long time since I’ve written any fan fiction, and never any SGA, but I wanted to thank the SGA fan fiction community for endless hours of reading pleasure. So here goes…

Trust But Verify

“Trust me, Sheppard.” 

The sound of those words echoed in the mind of Atlantis' chief scientist as he frantically studied the nearly featureless metal box in front of him. He searched for something, anything that would give him a direction to pursue. He needed a clue, or he feared that John Sheppard would be lost.

Why had he pushed Sheppard to touch the mysterious box that they had discovered in the uncharted bowels of Atlantis? 

“Trust me.” 

Damn it. How many times had he said those words to Sheppard, only to have them come back and bite one of them on the ass? Usually Sheppard’s ass, if truth be told. Damn again. He just can’t be dead. No matter what the life signs device said, Rodney just refused to believe it.

“Only mostly dead, Rodney, as long as you don’t open the box.”

Rodney McKay almost smiled to himself. Quoting ‘The Princess Bride’. Sheppard just couldn’t stop those stupid movie references.

But, that wasn’t really Sheppard speaking, McKay knew. Those words were in his own head. Sheppard wasn’t quoting anything, and might not ever again if McKay couldn’t solve the puzzle in front of him. 

He mentally shook his head as the image of his friend reluctantly putting his hands on the coffin-like object flashed before him. Once again he had intentionally irritated Sheppard, goading him to the point that he just gave in, and against his better judgment, used his gene to operate some unknown Ancient technology. McKay had watched, first with interest, then with a quiver of fear, then horror, as Sheppard’s body seemed to dissolve. He saw surprise, pain, and something he rarely saw on John’s face, fear, as he was drawn into the damned box. 

McKay had pulled out his ever-present life signs detector and watched desperately as the bright dot on the LSD, signifying the life of Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard, his best friend and teammate, faded to nothing. Oh God. Had he just killed Sheppard  
?  
“Think, McKay. It’s what you do best.”

The scientist took a deep breath and thought back to the circumstances that got him… them to this awful point. Again.  
*****SGA*****

Morning briefing. Colonel Sheppard arrived his usual and intentional two minutes late. It might seem petty, but he couldn’t resist this small perk of command. It wasn't enough time to be rude to the civilians, but it was just enough to remind himself that as military leader of Atlantis he set his own agenda. 

Sheppard glanced around the table. Woolsey was glaring at him for being late again. Check. Teyla was smiling at him indulgently.Busted. He smiled back. Check. Ronon totally focusing on the pile of pastry in front of him; Peterson from Engineering, looking eager and just a little bit impatient; Major Lorne, checking his watch and giving his commanding officer a nod of respect; check, check and check. All here. Almost. He couldn’t help quirking his lip into a tiny grin at the expected and empty place at the table. McKay. Missing. Check.

“Make way, busy man here.” The whirlwind that was Rodney McKay shouldered his way past the control room staff, thundered up the stairs and slammed into his seat.

“Let’s get started, people. I’m a busy man and I haven’t got all day.” The scientist grabbed for the ever-present coffee pot and poured some of the steaming drink into his mug. Sheppard noticed that Rodney’s favorite quote, “We can’t solve our problems with the same thinking that created them.” was starting to wear off his favorite mug. He made a mental note to buy another one before his friend’s birthday next month. 

Mr. Woolsey glared again. Sheppard had a momentary thought that he hadn’t seen Woolsey without that glare in far too long. They all needed a bit of a break. Maybe a day on the mainland? The colonel has heard from the Athosians that the surf was particularly good at the moment. He would suggest an excursion to the man after their mission.

“Dr. McKay, we’ve been waiting for you to arrive.” Woolsey paused for effect, but as usual, the effect was lost on McKay. “Now that you’re here, tell us about this theory of yours, and why you think I should allocate resources to explore a part of the city that we don’t actually know exists?” Woolsey asked.

McKay let out a sigh, then paused to make sure all eyes were on him. “As I have already outlined in my memo, which I trust ALL of you have read, this small area of the city doesn’t appear on any of Atlantis’ maps, and I haven’t been able to find any reference to it in the database. In fact, we’d have never have noticed it at all if it weren’t for the brilliant mapping program that I developed…”

Dr. Janet Peterson sat straight in her seat and tried to control her breathing. Engineering had begun the mapping program, and had brought it to the chief scientist for approval, and any tweaking that seemed necessary. She admitted to herself that McKay’s modifications did improve the program, but really, the arrogance of the man.

“…with the able assistance of Dr. Peterson and her engineering team,” continued McKay. He glanced at the surprised scientist who mouthed her thanks.

“At this point, we can only speculate on the reason that the Ancients left this section of the city off their maps. ZPM factory? Drones? Med labs? Some secret weapon to defeat the Wraith? Who knows?” The scientist’s speech got faster and faster as his excitement grew.  
“We need to check it out, and the sooner the better.” Breathlessly, McKay sat back against his chair with an audible thump.

Woolsey glanced at Colonel Sheppard for a moment. They had already discussed the request from McKay and decided that it had merit. However, neither one could resist teasing the impatient scientist.

“What are your thoughts on this, Colonel?” 

“Well,” drawled Sheppard, “we're stretched pretty thin at the moment. Teams Two, Five and Six are off world. Team Three is still in the infirmary with that rash.” The entire table shuddered as they thought about the quarter-sized purple hives that afflicted poor Team Three after a brush with some innocuous looking plants on M5N 2V5. “I suppose we could assign Team Four in a day or two when they’re back on duty...” Sheppard paused, mentally counted to three as the predicted explosion came from McKay.

“What’s wrong with our team, Sheppard? This is too important to leave to those bumbling idiots in ‘a day or two’. WE NEED TO GO NOW!”

Sheppard resisted the impulse to look around the table. He was pretty sure that everyone but Rodney knew that he and Woolsey were yanking his chain. He paused again, then with a smirk, replied, “Okay, McKay. Gear up, everyone. Peterson, you’re with us. We leave in thirty.”

McKay continued his rant until Sheppard’s words sunk in. 

“Okay, then,” he sputtered, “thirty minutes should be fine. We should meet at Transporter 12. That one will take us closest to the section of Atlantis that we need to explore. I should warn you all that it’s a bit of a hike from there, since the transporter system is down in that part of the city, so dress appropriately and don’t be late...”

Still talking, Rodney McKay left the room without looking back. It was a good thing, too, or he might have seen the chuckles of everyone in the room, even the famously stoic Mr. Woolsey.  



	2. Chapter 2

A bit of a hike turned out to be a typical McKay understatement. The uninhabited areas of Atlantis were usually pretty difficult to access, and this one was no exception. After nearly two hours of walking, and sometimes climbing over piles of debris, the team and the engineer finally arrived at what Dr. McKay assured them was their destination.

“Hah,” exclaimed the Chief Scientist. “I knew it. According to the maps of the city, this corridor doesn’t exist. This wall isn’t here. And, yet, here we are. Just like the mapping program predicted. I’m sure our missing space is behind this...” He pointed to a rather ordinary looking wall.

They were all hot and tired from the exertion, and wet from splashing through puddles of sea water that seeped through the lower levels. The team had endured McKay’s constant stream of complaints. He had complained about the distance, that his feet were wet, that his feet were sore, that the Colonel provided him with his least favorite power bars, and that moldy smell of the unused section of the city was wreaking havoc with his delicate sinuses. He repeatedly asked the Colonel why they couldn’t take a jumper, and had been repeatedly reminded that jumpers were only used in Atlantis in dire emergencies. 

Teyla was nursing a bruised arm that she has fallen on after getting caught in submerged rubble as they walked. She was feeling a little bit irritated that after all their effort it appeared that they were in a corridor exactly like the dozens that they had just struggled through. 

“I don’t see anything different about this space, Rodney. How can you be certain that this is what you seek?” asked the usually patient Teyla. 

McKay ignored her question as he furiously typed on his tablet. He inspected the wall in front of him and pointed to a spot about chest height for the Colonel.

“There, gene-boy. Put your hand there.”

“That’s Lieutenant Colonel Gene-Boy to you, McKay, and answer Teyla’s question. I think we’d all like to know.” Sheppard responded. He would never admit it, but listening to Rodney grumble the entire trip had set him on edge. Something felt off.

With an exasperated huff McKay turned to the engineer. 

“Peterson, you explain it.”

Pleased to be included in the discussion, Janet Peterson began. “With our new mapping program we have calculated the displacement of Atlantis to the last cubic centimeter, but couldn’t account for 18.7498 cubic meters. We were able to narrow down the missing space with the help of Dr. McKay, who integrated a three-dimensional hologram of Atlantis with our…”

McKay interrupted. “Enough engineering babble, Peterson. Sheppard, just put your hand on the damn wall and find the way in.”

With an apologetic glance to the engineer, Sheppard stepped to the wall and ran his hand over the space that McKay indicated.

“Hmmph.” The team could see the effort on Sheppard’s face as he searched for some opening in the wall. “Come on, open up,” he thought, searching for some indication that there was a way in, as Rodney insisted. He felt the hum of the city in the back of his mind, but nothing more. For some reason, Atlantis didn't seem to want to help him with this one.

“You sure about this, McKay?”

The irritated scientist didn’t raise his head from his tablet.

“Trust me, Sheppard. This has to be it. I’m certain that there’s something here. A hidden space is the only thing that would account for the anomaly in Atlantis’ volume. Just think harder.”

The Colonel pushed mentally at the wall, using his link to the city to ask Atlantis for help. He felt her hesitate, then she acknowledged his request with a gentle tickle behind his eyes. Slowly a crack appeared in the wall. It spread until the outline of a door took shape. He silently thanked the city for her help. 

Sheppard sometimes wondered what his life would have been like if his gene had never been discovered, but he never regretted that it had. Well, almost never.

“I knew it,” crowed the excited scientist as he pushed forward towards the new opening. He was abruptly pushed back.

“Scientists last,” Sheppard declared. “You know the drill, McKay. I’ll take point. Teyla, you’re with me. Ronon, you wait with the others until we give you the all clear.”

Sheppard put his hand on the newly formed door and thought ‘open’. Nothing happened. He concentrated harder and still nothing happened. He had a moment to wonder why the city was being reluctant to let him in, when he heard the whine of Ronon’s blaster charging up. Before he could protest, he saw the flash of red burn a hole through the recalcitrant door. The squawks of protest coming from the two scientists behind him stilled the pilot’s impulse to yell at Ronon, too. 

He really needed to have ‘the talk’ about not shooting first with the Satedan. Again. 

Sheppard wrapped his hand in a piece of his sleeve and pushed on the smoldering metal. The hole that had resulted was just big enough for him to climb through. He waited on the other side of the door as Teyla, favoring her sore arm, cautiously slipped through to join him. Lights slowly brightened the gloom as the two teammates carefully made their way across the room. Sheppard was struck by how clean the windowless space seemed, particularly as he compared it to area of the city they had just trekked through. It looked like no one had entered for a very long time.

The room was empty except for a large rectangular box on the floor against the far wall.  
He and Teyla continued their survey, but the space was not large, and it seemed as featureless he had initially thought. 

He did feel the familiar prickle that told him that Ancient tech was near. Sheppard was pretty sure it was coming from the box. It wasn’t ‘on’, just present, so he wasn’t concerned about accidentally activating something. Although he was really curious, he resisted the urge to think ‘open’ to the box. McKay would probably kill him if he did.

“All clear. You can come through.” Sheppard called. “There’s an Ancient thingy in the room, but it doesn’t feel active. And, yes, Rodney, I am staying away.”

“You better, Sheppard. Remember the three meter rule.”

Sheppard couldn’t resist tweaking his friend yet again.

“Is that the same as three feet, Rodney?”

Sheppard could hear McKay’s exasperated squawk as he and Peterson clambered through the still smoking hole, followed by Ronon, who did not look the least bit sheepish at having destroyed the door. 

The two scientists quickly moved to the box, scanning as they went. Without touching it, they noted that it seemed to be made of the same silvery metallic material as was much of Atlantis. There were no obvious opening, but McKay noticed that nearly hidden against the wall was an inscription in Ancient.

McKay looked at the Colonel. He knew very well that Sheppard’s command of that language was much better than his, although the colonel did his best to hide his proficiency at this, as in so many things.

“Well?” he inquired. “What does it say, Colonel?” 

“What does what say?” Teyla asked. She peered at the featureless box in confusion.

“Don’t you see the inscription?” McKay growled, impatient to continue his study of the object.

“Ronon, Dr. Peterson, do you see anything written on the box?” Teyla asked. The two shook their heads. Dr. Peterson ran her flashlight up and down the rectangular object but saw nothing at all.

“Hmmm,” McKay pondered. “It must be gene related. The two of us with the gene see something, the rest of you don’t. Obviously, whoever built this didn’t want anyone but Ancients to see those markings. Sheppard, tell me what you see.”

“I can’t tell you what I see if I can’t see it, and I can’t see it if I don’t get closer. Three METER rule, you know.” Sheppard just couldn’t resist winding up his friend, although he was itching to get closer to the mysterious box.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Sheppard. Get your ass over there and tell me if it says what I think it says.”

Sheppard cautiously approached the Ancient artifact. He mentally leaned into his connection to Atlantis to help him translate.

“I think it says this is a portal, or maybe... a gate to power. Or, maybe to ...energy.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” whispered the scientist, almost talking to himself. “Power... or energy….” His head snapped up. “Oh my god, people. Do you know what this could be? I bet it’s a gate to ZPM production.” McKay began to pace. “I always suspected that the Ancients didn’t produce them on Atlantis. Too dangerous. An industrial accident could destroy the entire city. This could be how they got to wherever they did build them. Do you have any idea what this could mean to us? To Atlantis? To everything?”

“It says something else, but that’s mostly hidden by the wall. Do you want me to try to move the box?” asked Sheppard.

“NO.” Three of the people in the room shouted as one.

“Maybe,” replied McKay. “We have to know what this is. It could be the solution to all our problems, not to mention the key to my Nobel Prize!” 

“Calm down, Einstein.” Sheppard tried to reign in his excited friend. “Why would the Ancients put a gateway to ZPM production in an unmarked room that no one could find?” 

McKay thought for a moment. “Think about it for a minute. That’s exactly what they would do. If Atlantis was taken over by hostiles, they wouldn’t have access to information about where this room is, and no-one without the gene would have any idea what this thing is.”

Sheppard reached for his radio. “We should report in and bring in a team to study…”

“A team!” McKay exclaimed. “Later. We can bring in a team later. Right now we need to see if we can open the box. We won’t go any further until we’ve studied it, but we should at least see if we can get it open. Sheppard, touch it over here.” He motioned to the box.

“Rodney.”

“McKay!” 

“Sir?” 

Three voices shouted, while the Colonel looked at his friend uncertainly. Sheppard felt as though he was being drawn to the box. The tickle from the Ancient technology was rapidly expanding to a full blown itch. He was beginning to feel almost uncomfortable. He wanted to touch it, but at the same time, he felt strangely hesitant. The city seemed to be trying to say something, but he didn’t understand what.

Sheppard inched closer as he looked at McKay.

“Are you sure about this, Rodney? Something doesn’t feel right. Maybe we should wait until we know more…” 

“Oh, for God’s sake. Trust me, Sheppard,” snapped the irritated scientist. He grabbed hold of his reluctant teammate and pushed him towards the object.  
Those words seemed to hang in the air as the pilot reluctantly put his hands on the box, and thought, “Open”.


	3. Chapter 3

Grey. The world was grey. And full of pain. As he sensed himself surface to consciousness, Sheppard groaned. He felt as though he had been run over by a herd of Ronon’s pet fokins. As near as he could tell from the Satedan’s stories, fokins were a really nasty cousin of the American buffalo. Only with spikes, and a mouth full of very sharp teeth.

He tried to remember what had happened. The last thing he recalled was eating near-oatmeal with his team for breakfast. Slowly, the haze cleared from his brain as he remembered the survey mission, the room, the box… He had been trying to open the box for Rodney.

“Trust me, Sheppard.”

Crap. He remembered that. He remembered the feeling of being pulled apart, inch by inch as he was drawn into that mysterious box. That sure hadn’t felt like any transporter, or beaming technology. What the hell had happened to him? 

He looked around, but the light in the room was too dim to see much. Room. Huh. He obviously wasn’t inside that box. Where was he? 

Double crap. Rodney’s ZPM factory? Was that where he was? He sure hoped so, since the ride to whatever this was, was pretty unpleasant. The payoff better be really, really big.  
His body ached from head to toe, like he had the beginnings of a really bad case of the flu. He really didn’t want to do that again without coming back to Atlantis with at least one fully functioning ZPM.

Sheppard mentally gave himself a shrug. He needed to find out where he was, then figure a way to get back to Atlantis. Then, he might even consider admitting to Beckett that he felt like hell.

Slowly, he pulled himself up until he was sitting, panting from the effort. The Colonel reached into his TAC vest for a flashlight to cut through the gloom. 

Something was very wrong. He could see his hand move, touch his vest, move around in the pocket, but he couldn’t feel it at all. He slapped his hand on the floor, felt a flare of pain, but not the sensation of touching the floor.

Wow. That wasn’t good. With increasing anxiety, he tested his arms, his chest, his legs. Nothing. He saw the movement his limbs, but the sensation of touch was gone.  
He tried really hard not to flash back to another time that his body had gone numb. At least that time he had been in a jumper, surrounded by his team, albeit with a big, ugly bug stuck to his neck. This time he was on his own. Alone. Who knows where? He felt the cold coil of fear shiver up his spine. What if this was permanent? If he figured out how to get home, would he be able to do his job? Fly? “Get it together, John” he said to himself. Now was not the time to lose it. 

Sheppard realized that there was nothing he could do about the loss of feeling, permanent or not, but at least he was still somewhat mobile. He slowly, cautiously, made his way to his feet. It was totally weird. He felt pain from the transport, but nothing else. He could hear the sound of his boots as they hit the ground, but he could not feel his feet. He had never really thought about how his sense of touch keep him oriented. He had never imagined anything like this.

That comfort of his connection to Atlantis was missing, too. In a way, that was almost as unnerving as his lack of sensation. He mentally searched for the feeling of Ancient technology that he expected to feel if this was an Ancient facility, but there was nothing.  
Sheppard has to focus on holding the flashlight in his deadened hand as he cast his light around the room.

He peered through the dim light. The pilot slowly moved towards the wall across the room from where he stood. If there was a door... a gate... he figured that's where he should start looking. 

Walking was a dizzying nightmare, but he knew that he had to move. He couldn’t just sit back and wait for something to happen. That wasn’t in his nature. Sheppard felt compelled to go towards the wall, to actively decide his own fate. As he lurched forward, he thought that somehow his brain had been disconnected from his body. It was like the worst case of vertigo he had ever experienced, with the numbness from the Iratus bug thrown in for bad measure.

Sheppard stumbled as his feet tangled together. His reaction time was shot to hell so he fell, uncontrolled. He might have put out his arms to stop himself, but he couldn’t be sure. His head hit the floor with a sickening crack. Before he lost consciousness his last thought was that he was in a lot of trouble. He hoped his friends could figure out a way to get to him, because he was checking out…

*****SGA*****

Rodney McKay’s normal method of operation was to shout first and think later. He went from zero to panic in no time at all. Except, when there was a true emergency. Then, his teammates were reminded of why John Sheppard had made what seemed like an unlikely decision to put the scientist on his team. A more improbable pairing was hard to imagine, but Sheppard saw beneath the bluster to the good friend, and true genius that was M. Rodney McKay. 

”Peterson, Teyla, Ronon. You’re not gene carriers. Pull the box away from the wall. We need to see what else is written on it.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea, McKay? questioned the Satedan. “It could mess things up even more if we move the box.”

“Where did you get your PhD, Ronon? In a box of crackerjacks?” snapped McKay. “We need to get to Sheppard. His life sign has disappeared. I hope it’s because he’s no longer in the box, but I am pretty sure we don’t have the time to have a debate.” 

Ronon, Teyla and the engineer hurried to the box. They struggled to move it. It was much heavier than it should be given its size. Slowly, they were able to inch it away from the wall exposing the rest of the Ancient inscription.

“Oh no,” moaned McKay. “I’m no Sheppard, but if I read this right, I think we’re in trouble here.”

“You mean Sheppard’s in trouble,” rumbled the Satedan. “What does it say, McKay?”

“The first part says that it’s a gate to power. That part we already knew.” 

Ronon’s low growl of impatience silenced the scientist.

“Ronon, let him speak,” soothed Teyla.

With a quiver in his voice, McKay continued. “I’m not completely sure about this. I’m not a linguist, after all.”

“Rodney…”

“The second part of the inscription seems to say that there’s no return from the gate.”

McKay looked up from the box in horror.

“Oh my God, even if he’s not dead in the box, and I’m pretty sure he’s not, I don’t think he’ll be able to get himself back.” 

McKay looked like he had just lost his best friend. In all likelihood, he had. And, his last words to his friend echoed in his head.

“Trust me, Sheppard”. 

He was responsible. He had literally pushed Sheppard into touching the box without really knowing what the consequences would be. He needed to try to find his teammate. To fix this mess. Before his companions could stop him, Rodney put his hands on the box, and thought ‘open’. McKay felt himself be pulled into the box. He didn’t hear the horrified shouts of those he left behind.


	4. Chapter 4

McKay thought he had blacked out for a moment. He opened his eyes to a sight that was both welcome, and horrifying. On the floor before him was the prone figure of the Colonel.   
In the dim light the man looked dead. Fear held him back from approaching Sheppard for a moment, but he had to know. 

“Colonel,” he called out. “Sheppard!” 

No response. He reluctantly crawled over to his friend. McKay felt weak and sore. He reached out to touch the man before him, his hand shaking, afraid of what he would find. He looked down and saw a small puddle of blood under Sheppard’s head and drew back in anguish. 

“Oh, no. I’ve killed him,” he whispered.

A faint groan was the most welcome sound McKay had ever heard.

“Sheppard. Sheppard! John!! Are you alright? Stupid question. Of course you’re not alright. Can you hear me?” He shouted at the injured man.

A second, louder groan, and then, “Rodney?”

“Oh, thank God. Sheppard, snap out of it. Have you figured out where we are?”

For the second time in an hour, John Sheppard struggled to consciousness. If it was possible, he felt even worse than before. His head ached and his body was a disconcerting mix of numbness and pain. He shuddered as he remembered how he had ended up on the ground.

“Touch me.”

“Huh?” chuffed McKay.

“Touch me, McKay.”

“Back off, Sheppard. You might be my friend, and we might be stuck here together forever, but I’m not interested in you that way.”

Sheppard looked at the anxious scientist and nearly smiled as he realized how his request might have sounded. Rumors to the contrary, he and Rodney had never… 

“Relax, Meredith,” he drawled. I need you to touch me because I think my trip here scrambled my brain. When I woke up from touching that box I could feel pain inside my body, but I’m pretty numb on the outside. We need to know if it happened to you, and if I still have this little problem.”

The scientist tentatively reached out to touch the injured man. “I can feel this, can you?” he asked as he pinched John’s arm?

“No, nothing,” replied Sheppard with a worried frown. “This isn’t good. So, you have normal feeling?”

McKay nodded.

“I don’t. What’s the difference between us? Besides the obvious, I mean.”

“What does that mean?” McKay squawked.

“Well, I am a natural gene-carrier, and you’re not. What did you think I meant?” Despite his pain, and worry about his condition, Sheppard really could not resist teasing the easy target that was his friend.

“Oh, of course.”

Sheppard slowly rolled to his side and pulled himself into a sitting position. “What the hell are you doing here, anyway?” he asked. 

McKay looked at his friend, trying to think how he was going to tell him what he had learned from the inscription. And, how Sheppard was going to blow his stack when he heard that they both might not be able to get back.

“I couldn’t very well leave you by yourself, now could I? I figured I was your best shot at getting back home, if there is a way to get home, that is.  
”   
“That’s the second time you said something about being stuck here. What’s going on, McKay?”

“Can you feel anything Ancient?” asked McKay, trying to delay telling his friend that he was afraid that they were marooned.

“Nope. I've tried, but I don't think there's anything Ancient here. Now, what did you mean about being stuck here?” Sheppard was nothing if not persistent.

“Well, do you remember anything about that box we found?”

“I remember a really painful trip here, oh, and something was written on it that only you and I could see. Did you ever figure out what else was written on that thing?”

McKay looked at his friend. He felt incredibly guilty for pushing him to touch the box without a thorough examination. How many times had he put Sheppard in jeopardy to satisfy his insatiable curiosity? And, how many times had he used the phrase ‘Trust me’ to manipulate Sheppard into doing something that ended with him in trouble? 

“The second part of the inscription said that there was no return from the gate. I’m incredibly sorry, John. I don’t think we can get back to Atlantis at all.”

Sheppard put his head in his hands. His head throbbed, and he was disoriented by the lack of feeling. But, he couldn’t think about that now. He needed to put his weakness aside and focus on getting himself, and now Rodney, back to Atlantis.

He had to do his job. Sheppard had a great deal of faith in Rodney’s abilities, but knew sometimes his scientific passion overrode his good sense. John saw it as his job to reign in that passion and channel it to do the most good. What he had to do now was his job as team leader. He had to focus McKay so he could find a way to get them both home. He refused to believe that they were on a one-way journey.

“So, McKay. You’re going to just lie back and die here? And, let me die alongside you?" Sheppard paused for dramatic effect. Guilt and jealousy. That was the guilt.

"Besides, I know that Atlantis will be doing everything they can to get us back. Do you really want to live with Zelenka boasting that he saved the day, not you?” That was the jealousy. 

McKay just looked at him and sighed. “What would you suggest I do?”

Hmmm. That usually worked. Sheppard knew it was time to pull out the big gun. Flattery and a deadline. 

“Do what you do best, Rodney. Think our way out of this, find a solution, and I don’t want to rush you or anything, but I think I may be on the clock, so to speak.” Sheppard’s voice got softer and raspier as he seemed to run out of breath finishing his sentence.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, I can’t feel my body, but I was feeling the pain. Now, even that’s fading and it’s getting harder for me to breath. I have a feeling this may get worse soon…” Sheppard panted and McKay could hear the effort that it was taking his friend.

“What can I do, John?” whispered the concerned McKay.

“Find us a way home, Rodney. Please.” Sheppard felt his eyes close and for the third time today he surrendered to unconsciousness.

*****SGA*****  
The formerly undiscovered room on Atlantis has crowded with anxious people. Teyla had reported back to Mr. Woolsey that half of her team had disappeared into a mysterious Ancient box. Sooner than she might have anticipated, Major Lorne, Sheppard’s second in command arrived with a team of scientists, led by Dr. Zelenka, and two linguists. Lorne had loaded up a jumper and found a landing place fairly near to the problem. He also brought along a medical team, including Dr. Beckett, who insisted on coming when he heard who was in trouble. 

Beckett could be heard mumbling something about ‘ijiots in sic trooble’ the entire flight. The major thought that if, no when they got their missing people back, he didn’t want to be in their shoes. Dr. Beckett was the kindest man he knew, but his retaliatory needles were legendary.

Since Dr. Zelenka was not a gene carrier, he had to have the inscription on the mysterious object translated to him.

“It says something about an opening to power, or a way to power but that this is not the way back,” one of the language specialists reported.

“Are you sure?” Teyla asked. The two linguists conferred and both confirmed the translation.   
“That is not what McKay thought. He said that the box said there was NO way back. That is not the same thing,” growled Ronon impatiently. He had to stop himself from just blasting the box to get his two teammates back.

Zelenka looked thoughtful. “Perhaps there is another opening or gateway somewhere else on Atlantis, but where would we look? And, if there’s another way back, why haven’t Rodney and the Colonel returned?” He turned to the Major. “Would you start a search on this level, please Major? We have to start somewhere, and this is the most logical place to begin.”

“I’ll go with him,” growled Ronon.

“And, I shall wait here with all the doctors,” Teyla added, nodding to Drs. Zelenka, Peterson and Beckett, “in case Dr. McKay and Colonel Sheppard return here on their own,” And, she settled down to wait, outwardly serene as always, but inwardly fearing that this time her two teammates might be lost to them for good.

Zelenka and his team began to examine the box in great detail. To him, it looked like a featureless object, almost coffin-like in shape. He shuddered at that thought. He was very fond of the Colonel, and despite their constant bickering, he truly thought of Rodney as a good friend and valued colleague.

He mentally went over the facts as he knew them. They were in a room in a hidden part of the city. There was a box in the room that had writing that could only be read by a gene carrier. The writing seemed to suggest that the box was a portal of some type, and it had transported two of his friends, but to where and for what purpose? He had to hope that they had been transported. The LSD clearly indicated that no one was alive in the box. The alternative was too horrible to contemplate.

Perhaps they should try to open the box. Force it open, if necessary. He thought to himself, “It’s like Shroedinger’s box. If we don’t open the box, we’ll never know for sure whether Sheppard and McKay are alive. It we do open it, we may know for sure, and I don’t think any of us will like the answer.”


	5. Chapter 5

McKay looked at his unconscious friend with increasing desperation. Even in the dim light of the small room, he could see that Sheppard seemed to grow paler by the minute. His breathing sounded increasingly labored. McKay could see no way out, literally or figuratively. He felt the walls start to close in on him.

“Think, McKay. Do what Sheppard told you. What got you here? What will get you both out?”

He paced back and forth. He thought back to the small room in Atlantis, and the box that started this whole mess. Clearly the Ancients had hidden it away. They had written on it, giving some idea of what it was for. 

"If there’s a way in, there has to be a way out. I am thinking about this the wrong way altogether. Thinking… Thinking. John’s thinking got himself into this. Me, too. Could it be so simple?"

“Wake up, Sheppard!” Rodney gently shook his friend. No response. He shook him harder. Still no response. He had forgotten about Sheppard’s scrambled nerves. John probably couldn’t feel the shaking.

“WAKE UP, SHEPPARD!” the scientist yelled. He watched as his friend’s eyes started to flutter and slowly open. 

“John, I might have an answer. I just needed to think differently about how we got here. I know that Ancient technology operates by touch, but there’s also a huge mental component. 

I don’t think the Ancients would transport their people somewhere without giving them a way to get home. There's nothing that's obvious technology in the room, so we've got to look at what is here. Maybe, just like you thought open a door in the wall in Atlantis, you can do the same thing here  
.  
I think we have to use that to think our way out of here. Literally."

“McKay,” groaned the Colonel, “you are making even less sense than usual. Besides, there’s no Ancient device here. I would be able to feel it, if there were.” Sheppard’s eyes started to close.

“Oh, no you don’t. You need to stay awake. Listen, John. I really think I have this figured out and I think we can get back home, but I need you firing on all cylinders. Can you please try to stay with me?

I can’t find the portal because I’m a not a natural gene carrier. You can’t feel it because the transporter from hell gave you a neural shock and disconnected you from the Ancient technology” 

“Are you sure, McKay? What if there is a gate and it sends us somewhere else? Then Atlantis might never find us.” The effort to speak was etched on Sheppard's face.

“You have to trust me, Sheppard. You need to try this. I need you to get us both home.”

Sheppard looked at his friend. He thought about how many times he had been asked to trust by McKay with disastrous results. And yet, despite all the disasters, he really did trust the scientist. 

“I’ll try, Rodney,” he whispered, his strength failing. “I’ll try. And, no matter what happens, McKay. I do trust you.”

Rodney blinked hard. He pulled on his friend’s arms to slowly raise him to his feet. Putting his arms around Sheppard’s chest, he began to pull him towards the wall . 

“Think open, John. Think, open and think home, and please trust me one more time. Think about going home. About Atlantis.”

Sheppard looked skeptical. He was having a really hard time staying awake. His jangled nerve endings were throwing mixed messages to his beleaguered brain. It took a huge effort just to keep breathing. He was afraid that thinking might be off the table at this point. He wanted nothing more than to give into the darkness again. But, he knew he couldn’t. If he was the key to getting them both home, he had to try. He also knew that Rodney would never be able to live with himself if they somehow got themselves out of this mess, but Sheppard died. 

He reached out with his mind, searching for the link. And, he thought that maybe, just maybe, the familiar pull of Atlantis was beckoning to him. Maybe Rodney was right. Besides, he did really did trust the scientist. He watched as Rodney took his insensate hands and placed them on the featureless wall.

Sheppard thought, “Home.”

*****SGA*****

When the hazy shapes solidified into Dr. McKay holding up a nearly unconscious Colonel Sheppard, the gate room froze. Mr. Woolsey practically catapulted down the stairs. He had been monitoring the disappearance of his two colleagues from his office. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

“We need help here,” McKay shouted. “Sheppard’s in trouble. And, I’m not doing too well either.”

He slowly slid to the ground, still cradling his friend in his arms. "Good job with the thinking, Sheppard," he murmured.

"Thanks, pal," replied the injured man. McKay could feel it when Sheppard lost the fight to stay with him.

“Medical team to the gateroom. Two men down,” Woolsey called out, “and someone notify Teyla, Ronon and Major Lorne.”

In a matter of minutes, the gate room filled with people, medical equipment, gurneys… all the familiar life-saving paraphernalia. The scientist was gently pushed out of the way by the medical team, who moved to assess the Colonel’s condition.

“Dr. McKay, can you tell us what happened to Colonel Sheppard?” 

“I’m not that kind of doctor, you know, but I think he got kind of fried when he went through that box. Then, he hit his head. It was bleeding pretty badly, and, then he said that he could feel pain, but had no sensation of touch. He was breathing pretty funny, too.” McKay watched as the efficient medical personnel put an oxygen mask over his friend’s face and hastily slapped a gauze bandage over the angry cut on his forehead.

“Has he been conscious?” 

“Yeah, he has. And, it was really hard for him, but he thought our way out of the mess I got us into.” Rodney seemed to falter. He watched as the medical team started to wheel his friend to the infirmary. “I’m coming with him. He trusts me…” The scientist seemed unable to continue.

“We’re going to take good care of him, Doctor. And, of you, too.”

McKay was ushered into a waiting wheelchair as his pallor hinted that he probably wasn’t up to a walk to the infirmary. It was an indication of his anxiety that he didn’t berate the medical staff for not putting him on a gurney too, or taking him first; his concern for his friend outweighed his concern for himself

*****SGA*****

The first thing Sheppard felt as he returned to consciousness was that he was home. He could feel his link to the city, and that Atlantis seemed relieved that he was back.

The second thing that he felt was that ‘numb’ was starting to seem like a better alternative to the most massive case of pins and needles that assaulted his whole body. He squirmed, trying to get comfortable when he realized that he could feel the movement of his body against the hard mattress of the infirmary bed.

Relief. That was the third thing he felt. He wondered if McKay was…

McKay! Sheppard’s eyes flew open and he bolted up, at least as far as his aching body would allow.

“Easy now, Colonel.” Beckett, his voice soothing, reached to support him as the bed was raised beneath him. “You’re doing fine. You had a bit of a neural shock from that Ancient contraption, but it’s resolving. How are you feeling? Sore? And, don’t you sugar coat it or I’ll decide myself how you’re feeling.”

Sheppard looked around him. “Where’s McKay? My team?”

“They’re fine, John. Don’t you worry. Rodney had a much milder shock that left him just a little sore. Some pain killers, a hot shower and a meal, and he’s feeling much better. He was here with you, as were Teyla and Ronon, but I threw them out for the night. They’ll be back in the morning, I’m sure.”

The Colonel tried to relax but the aching, and pins and needles seemed to overwhelm him. He felt the pinch of an IV in the back of his hand and the all-too-familiar ache of a catheter.

“How long have I been out? he asked. 

"Nearly twelve hours, and you’ll be gracing that bed for quite a while yet. So, don’t you start your negotiating with me. You still haven’t answered me. How are you feeling, Colonel, and I want the truth.”

“I’m good, Doc.”

Beckett snorted his disbelief. “And, I’m the Loch Ness monster. I can see you’re hurting so I’m going to get something to help.” Sheppard could hear him muttering about stupid wee colonels as he went to fetch some medication.

“Psst.” McKay tried his best to move quietly as he stuck his head into Sheppard’s space.

“Rodney, get over here. Hurry, Beckett will be back in a few minutes. He’ll kill us both, if he catches you here.”

“I know,” the scientist replied, “but I had to talk to you.”

“I need to talk, too. What happened, Rodney? The last thing I remember is thinking ‘home’. How did that get us out of that room? And, did you ever figure out where we were?”

The scientist looked at his friend. He felt incredibly guilty for all the pain he had caused.

“I want to apologize, John. I asked you to trust me when I didn’t have all the information. I just plowed ahead and I put you in danger. Again. I am so sorry. 

Turns out that we stumbled on yet another failed Ancient experiment. That box was intended to be exactly what I thought it was. A gate to an off-site ZPM manufacturing facility, but it never worked properly. As you demonstrated, it had the unfortunate tendency to incapacitate any natural gene-bearer who used it. That would be a pretty big problem for a city full of Ancients. The box was abandoned, the lab walled up and forgotten until I nearly killed you.”

“But, you didn’t, Rodney. I’m still here and I’m fine.”

Sheppard was getting increasingly uncomfortable. He found himself actually looking forward to submitting to tender care of Dr. Beckett and his medical miracles.

“You better cut to the chase.” Sheppard tried to keep from moaning. “I’m not sure I’m up to a long explanation.”

“Well,” huffed McKay, “typical Ancients. When you got pulled into the damn box, the portal delivered a massive neural shock. You were supposed to be able to think your way there and back, hence the really strong neural connection, and if it had worked properly it wouldn't have nearly killed you.

Luckily, this one time, my artificial gene was better than your super-duper one and it didn’t cause me nearly as much neural disruption, so I was able to figure out our way home.”

“Wait a minute, I seem to remember that I was the one who thought us out of there.”

“But, I was the one who figured out where the portal was. And, I told you to think us home.”

Sheppard had no intention of telling his friend that he had been on his way see if there was another gate before he collapsed. Let Rodney think that he saved the day. He had, after all. Sheppard was pretty sure that he would never have made it to the wall without his friend’s support. 

Beckett hustled into the room, glaring at the wayward scientist. 

“What are you doing here, you numpty?” 

“Oh oh. Busted.”

“OUT,” the doctor shouted, “and don’t come back till morning. And, I don’t mean 1:00 in the morning. I mean not ‘til breakfast.”

McKay looked at his friend. “I’ll be back with Teyla and Ronon, Sheppard. We can eat breakfast here with you, if you think you’ll feel up to it.”

“I will,” replied the colonel, “and don’t eat all my bacon on the way here like you did the last time, McKay.”

“Trust me, Sheppard.”

“I do, McKay, but I’m counting the bacon. From now on, I’m going to trust, but verify.”

The End


End file.
